Jeffrey Rudes used the term “Hollywood glamour” when describing his Resort 2020 collection for L’Agence. But what exactly does that mean right now? Way, way back, it denoted the glitzy and scandalous ways of movie sirens like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. In more modern times, the expression is almost always used in mass media when speaking about a fabulous red carpet gown at the Oscars or at Cannes. Right now, in the age of influencers, Hollywood glamour means something you can pinpoint to Kardashian mania, beauty vloggers, and dressed-up Instagrammers. Rudes’s interpretation seemed to mostly fit this mold, and he expressed it through pieces like a micromini tank dress with leopard sequins, and bias-cut cowl-neck camis and slip dresses. He shot the new collection inside a nightclub called the Red Dragon in L.A., just the sort of place you might find Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid, wearing something like a slinky slip or a body-hugging dress.
It wasn’t all metallic charmeuse and lurex, though. Rudes was smart to incorporate pieces targeted toward a nonmillennial’s definition of Hollywood glamour—like the cool denim blazer with fraying at the edges, and the paisley and leopard-print trench. There were plenty of beautiful and wearable basics too, including a brown silk blouse and several pairs of skinny jeans. Here and there, Rudes did perhaps get too literal, adding one too many rich fabrics or embellishments, as with the red- and black-checked sequined silk blazer or the black turtleneck top adorned with rhinestones at the neck. But as a whole, this L’Agence offering will please both new and old guard glamorous types.
